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From mata to menace: In Ahmedabad, cows take over streets

DNA takes a look at the cow problem in the city, the dangers of dealing with a bovine and anxiety of its owner

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The stray cattle has caused several accidents across the city over the past few years
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The stray cattle is dogging everyone's life in the smart city. Besides choking the main traffic arteries, the unrestrained manoeuvring of the happy-go-lucky animal has become one of the pivotal reasons behind the increasing number of road accidents. The Gujarat High Court has directed the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to act tough on it.

Earlier, the deputy municipal commissioner had filed an affidavit before the HC saying Ahmedabad, which spans over 470 sq km, has over 23,482 cattle owners and 45,000 stray animals. Before the HC issued its order on August 10, 2017, around 20 to 30 cattle would be captured daily. This number has swelled to 40 to 50 today.

"There are around 45,000 cows in the city. Almost every ward has the Rabari colony– who keeps the cows," said Dinesh Desai, chairman of health and solid waste committee of AMC.

"It is true that at times stray cattle creates problems. We are in talks with the community to find a solution. We've also planned to have an animal hostel on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The state government has allotted fund and land it," added Desai.

The Cattle Nuisance and Control Department (CNCD) team captures around 40 to 50 cows daily and keep them at 'dabba' (a huge, open space) located at Danilimda. According to the AMC official, till 2005-16 there were around 10 to 12 such dabbas with capacity of keeping 150 to 200 animal. However, there is only one place at Danilimda with capacity of 2000 animals.

The team informs the respective police station once the animals are brought to the dabbas. The owner gives a written consent, saying that s/he will not abandon the animal again, following which the police registers an FIR (First Information Report). Earlier, the authority had decided to impose criminal charges against the cattle owners in case they leave their animals unattended. A case of culpable homicide would be lodged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 308. AMC has filed such cases against two owners in August 2017. After that, no such cases were filed.

There is no gauchar... 

Due to lack of the open space in the concrete jungle, they have no option left but to free their cows. 

“Where do we go? Earlier, there used to be open spaces where the cows used to roam about. Now, there are no Gauchars (unproductive land). The authority, earlier, had given separate colonies to the pastoral community,” said Jiva Desai, one of the cattle owners.

Migration of villages is also one of the reasons why we find stray cattle in the city. They come to the city to collect the fodder and stay in slum pockets mostly, which hardly has any space for the cattle. Animal hostel is not a feasible option. There is no clarity on how many animals they can accommodate,” said Neeta Pandya, chairperson of MARAG, an NGO

PAYING IT UP

AMC has tied up with Mumbai Jivdaya trust, which informs on a monthly basis how much animals they can accommodate in different Panjarapols under them. Monthly, they send around 400 to 500 cows to the Panjarapols. According to the civic body staff,  AMC pays Rs1,200 per cattle while giving it to Panjrapols.

CATTLE CHAOS

45,000 Cow population

1000 is the administration fee for imputation

500 a day is the fodder charge when in imputation

2000 animals is the capacity of Danapith dabba 

A risky affair... 

DNA reporter, who spent a day with the Cattle Nuisance and Control Department team, found it an extremely risky affair to capture a stray animal.

Led by a police Inspector, ten to twelve civic inspectors patrol the street on two jeeps.  in which the staff ride, two tractors for captured stray cattle and another vehicle of estate department.

WHAT DNA SAW

Danapith: The team was escorted by Rabaris on two-wheelers, carrying sticks. The first cow was captured from here. The cattle were running helter-skelter, and the ruckus halted the traffic for at least 10 minutes. 

Astodia Darwaja: Another two cows were found loitering on the traffic-heavy road. Few helpers arrived when the team reached and showed an intent of capturing the animal. The animals sneaked into diminutive lanes, zigzagged across the tributary connectors and tried to give a slip to the officials. 
“The Rabaris keep constant watch when we leave from Jamalpur slaughter house. They inform the people saying the team has entered a particular pocket,” said one of the sanitary inspectors.

Meghaninagar: The team spotted two animals blocking the road. The moment the team reached the place, two people pushed them into a housing colony. There was a tussle between the cattle owners and the team. The cattle owners, well-trained in hiding the animals, created a ruckus.

OWNER'S GUIDE

While one owner almost succeeded in taking the cow away, the other one surrendered. “This a risk that we take daily. On an average, five to seven police cases are filed every 24 hours. Two months ago, one of the cattle owners injured a police Inspector, following which his kidneys were affected and his one of the hands sustained a fracture,” said a cop.

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